Events: Anniversary Celebration Kick-Off!

birthday bash

I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it – but we’re celebrating Pierogi Picnic’s five year anniversary this month! Woot! Woot!

To mark the birth of my beloved business, as well as all things eco-friendly, vintage and handmade, we’re going to have a month-long virtual party! Tune in to the Pierogi Picnic website every Sunday in August for a weekly special which will include deep discounts in the Pierogi Picnic Etsy store. And if you’re not following us on Facebook – make sure you do so today – as we’ll be hosting contests, freebies and more all month long!

To kick-off the celebration, we’re giving away a $50 Pierogi Picnic gift certificate!!! Talk about awesome! Enter for a chance to win by following the directions below.

How to enter:

1. Subscribe to the Pierogi Picnic website. Scroll down and look on the left hand-side of the page. Wallah!

2. Visit the Pierogi Picnic Etsy page and select your all-time favorite item.

3. Comment back on this post saying what your favorite item is, why, and include a link to the original listing!

The gift certificate winner will be chosen at random on August 15th using http://www.random.org. We’ll announce the winner on the site on Friday, August 16th.

Thank you all in advance for helping us celebrate! Let’s get this party started!

Trends: High Waisted Shorts

Summer Trends: High-Waisted Shorts

It’s no secret that I love a high waist! Though this style can be a little intimidating at first – once you start wearing things above your belly button – it’s hard to go back.

Flattering, comfy and oh-so-retro looking, the “hike ’em up” trend has now spread to shorts as well! If you’ve been hoping to give the fit a try, check out these finds and give the look a try.

  1. Vintage Pink Shorts from This Vintage Girl
  2. Vintage Brown Shorts from Brown Cow Vintage
  3. Handmade Scalloped Shorts from Pierogi Picnic
  4. Vintage Yellow Shorts from Charlia Lana
  5. Handmade Floral Print Shorts by Minkie
  6. Vintage Neon Shorts from The Happy Forest
  7. Colorblock Jean Shorts from Pom Pom Vintage
  8. Sabina Short from Bark Decor

Bicycle Lovin’

bicyclesI’m smitten! Is it a new pet, pair of jeans, flavor of ice cream? Why no! It’s my new vintage bicycle!

Penny Lane, as she’s been dubbed, is my ticket to riding throughout the city this summer. With her curvacious frame, light weight and lemon meringue hue – she’ll be my constant companion to the season’s fairs, fests and lake-side lolly gagging.

Now that I have a new “steed” I’m apt to fancy it up with some accessories to make the ride that much sweeter. Here’s a smattering of some of my favorite handmade and earth friendly finds for jazzing up a bike for the summer! Continue reading

Designs: Color Crazy

Pierogi Picnic: Color Crazy Fashion

You know that the season’s-a-changing when people starting peeling back layers of black and grey to reveal bright and bold hues underneath!

Pining for pops of color after a long and dreary Chicago winter, it seems my palette is also bursting with pinks, yellow and saturated blues. From neon blouses graced with prints to colorful vintage finds that have been altered for a contemporary fit – there’s a definite theme to the Spring Pierogi Picnic collection!  Take a peek at all of this season’s creations in our color-lovin’ Facebook album. 

Here’s to a season of rainbow hues!

A Touch of Spring

I love love love playing up each season in my home using knick knacks and materials that are already strewn about our place.

So when  curating the look of my home for Easter and spring, I thought it would be fun to put a creative twist on the traditional symbols of the season.

Can you spot the themes?

pierogi picnic a touch of spring (3)

For this fun and vivid display I collected all the bird-like objects that I had dispersed throughout our apartment and brought them together on a runner of bright green moss.  Compiling items with a similar shape, theme, color, texture or size is a great way to make an  “instant collection” with pieces you already own. Not a dime spent here!

pierogi picnic a touch of spring (6)

I’ve been obsessed with brass vintage figurines this past year. Having found a set of bunny statues a couple years back – I have found myself moving them around the apartment at the shift of each season. But with it being spring – they are front and center on my side tables.

pierogi picnic a touch of spring (5)Feathers feathers feathers! They’re so easy to find and there are endless ways of using them! Whether collected in vases or strewn across the fireplace mantle with twine and washi tape – these natural (and trendy!) wonders add an airy texture to any space.

pierogi picnic a touch of spring (4)

These pillows! I just couldn’t stop myself when they appeared in an email newsletter from fab.com. These unique animal plushies are created when artist Kristin Loffer Theiss draws out the image using thread. She then scans and prints the design onto the fabric and stuffs each with filling and love! The result is a collection of unbearably adorable pillows! Here I’ve collected several of the more spring-like animals together to sit upon my re-upholstered vintage chair. Continue reading

Designs: Awesome Aqua

Pierogi Picnic: Spring + Summer 2013 handmade eco clothing aqua theme

I had quite the night Wednesday as I hosted a Pierogi Picnic photo shoot for the Spring + Summer 2013 collection!

Somewhat overdue, three beautiful ladies braved the cold to come out and dress up in my latest creations. With a click here and a pop there – we flew through over 30 outfits in just over an hour!

As I sit later in the night reviewing the 300+ photos we had snapped – I noticed a theme: aqua. Lots and lots of aqua! It’s funny how certain colors become prevalent with or without intention. I had planned to focus the next few month’s worth of pieces on blacks, whites, mints and pops of red. That was the idea at least! So it’s fun to see where my sub-conscious creativity really leads – and in this case – it’s to the most wonderful of bluish-green hues. 

For a sneak peek at our shoot – check out the Facebook album here